Matthew Dix: Coming Out to Abuela

Matthew Dix: Coming Out to Abuela

coming out to abuela

            after Matthew 11:30

 

when I was young & brown my grandmother

made a promise, slipped a sharp medallion

over my head (head the way hand means

servant). god gave man dominion over

every creeping thing, so when your father died

you bought me a leash: ribbed, leathery,

uneven to appear a natural

supplant to flesh. your father made our yoke

grievous and my father is jealous of

your power: one

operant condition        fallible body.

 

humanly perfect, my leash; the yoke

of your service is easy and light. dogs who eat

their masters begin at the head, like lovers.


Matthew Dix is a poet who lives in Charleston, South Carolina. In the fall he will join Columbia University as an MFA candidate in poetry.